I like Josh's post. I share similar thoughts.

We have not had a settled side since 2022.

When we did have a settled side, way back in the 2nd half of 2023, when perennially injured players, Martin, Cuningham, Williams, Gov, Marchbank all came back into the team, we won 10/11 games. Like them, we ran out of petrol tickets in the PF.

Our injury list started with 13 out in round zero. A couple weeks back we got it down to 5, and hovers around 7. We need players learning to play together under the same game plan, and that familiarity will enable them to be onfield coaches adjusting positioning to support the Game Plan. I'm only guessing, but there's evidence a settled team is a winning team.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

That's the near miracle I'm hopin' for Josh .

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All my dangerous friends

I like the sentiment too but the improvement in game style?

I don't see it at all. Yeah we're competitive but we lack any of the weapons - underdeveloped or not - to trouble strong sides.

Mental fragility is our biggest weakness. Kicking is a close second.

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Congratulations CK95

Yeah Hammer , that's why I'm saying near miracle . Lotta stuff to sort out .

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All my dangerous friends

Match winning weapons have won games against us off their own boot....Heeney, Gulden, Pickett, Gawn, Wardlaw, LDU, Rachelle, Rankine, Naicos, Bolton Jackson...do we have players who are like them? Would we have won if we had a couple players like them?

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Yes.

I think so.

We are a few players short to be a Finals team.
We can make that up at the end of the this year, and another top up end of 2027.

I hope Austin has some BIG targets lined up, or else.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Perhaps in the early season. By now they'd all be carltonised and shit.

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Congratulations CK95

a piece of toast with marmite on it, could coach us at this point.


team meetings, sitting in our little auditorium at ikon. everyone staring at the piece of toast with serious looks on their faces, nodding in agreement.

Marmite would be a little too strong for this mob.

I think they’d go to butter.

We are toast.

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“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

This club has been a disaster for 25 years
I repeat 25 years
Change coach no change
Change List Manager no change
Change CEO no change
Change head of football no change

What’s the common denominator
The Board and yet dummies on here still don’t understand
These people who sit in that room when there time expires they bring in someone new cut from the same cloth
The lack of leadership Priestley has shown in the last 2 weeks is sickening
The board chose Voss
The board ultimately has the final say on who assists him
When Voss is sacked he will become scapegoat number whatever in a long line of scapegoats that takes away the focus of the actual problem
New coach won’t change anything
Rinse and repeat

its time

I do agree with you, and deep down, do believe we need an overhaul of the board, but we've also just hired a new CEO and Head of Football. New hires Within 12 months. My questions would be directed to them.

Why did GW keep Voss on for another year? What was the reasoning? Losing talent because of such a decision needs to have some accountability. From the outside looking in - bad decision. Not a good start.
Has CD identified the football department issue(s) and what is the plan moving forward?

GW wanted him gone but the board didn’t want egg on their face and sack him before his contract was up unlike the plethora of of previous sacked coaches
This shit show might on all year

Serious question Keogh, do you know that GW wanted him gone? Or is it well known? Or is that what you think or have heard? (still valid, just trying to understand…)

I 100% agree our problems have gone this way for 25 years… or more.
It goes way beyond the coach, or the players. I lean more directly towards the culture but that is harder to define and to replace. Another problem is that even if we wipe out the Board, who is to say the next board is any better?

I feel like there are parallels between us and Essendon*. Having been pretty successful and ruthless clubs on and off the field up until the end of last century.
Since the turn of the century, neither of us can seem to get much right no matter who is the coach, recruiters, players etc…
I think we both tend to overrate our lists, pin our hopes on high draft picks, or individual messiahs.
We both tend to get ahead of ourselves either within matches or within a season after literally a couple of good wins.

I feel like we are putting a LOT of faith and pressure onto Graeme Wright to fix the whole club. starting with selecting the right coach.

Hence, I’d love to know if it is fact or otherwise that GW wanted to move on Voss last year because that affects my faith in GW’s judgement…

My gut feeling is GW orchestrated shipping out one of the KPFs.
We witnessed Coleman medals to Harry and Charlie when they were the FF.
Having 2 Coleman Medallist’s didn’t result in a winning combo.
One had to go to make cap space and give us draft picks for new talent plus Walker (who could’ve committed to Tigers if we didn’t want him)
Possibly, if GW knew Charlie didn’t want to play for Vossy, maybe that’s why GW kept Vossy. The long game.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I think there is too much overthinking here. My gut feel (supported by comments in the media) is Charlie let the weight of expectation from being the pin-up-boy for CFC get the better of him, and here I am guessing, that his Manager in talks with Charlie suggested a way out of that could be a trade.

charlie opposed and challenged voss about the game plan, is the word. he did it privately, not in front of the group. then when the word was out he was unhappy, a few other players sided with his viewpoint.

and we shipped all the aforementioned malcontents out, bar one - who was deemed untouchable by the club brass.

my speculation given his body of work this season is that player was jacob withering.


mind you, voss was out the door in july last season, so charlie was waiting to see if that would come to fruition before he voiced his concern and went from private to public with them. when GW said voss would stay minimum 1 more season, was the exact timing of the charlie wanting to leave rumours (started by his own management team)

it was all pretty messy right up until 5 mins leaft on the deadline when swans yielded to our request of 2 firsts

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Princes Park - always was, always will be.

Many media outlets said that Wright contacted McCrae around August last year and asked him
If he was interested in coaching
McCrae said no. Don’t forget Wright was at Carlton all of 2025 but most of that till August was shadowing Cook
When Wright was asked on 3 AW this year whether this happened he obviously denied it.
But he isn’t a good liar. 70 % of communication between adults is tone of voice and body language